Category: Maine

Does Increased Spending on Higher Education lead to Better State University Rankings?

I thought you would find the rankings of state higher education spending and state university rankings useful. Intuitively one would believe that states that spend more would have better ranked universities. Higher State spending does not mean it is a Best State for Education. Lower State spending does not mean it is a Worst State for Education. A closer look is warranted.

Utah spends the most of its state budget on higher education at 15.5%. Its University of Utah is ranked 126 according to U.S. News 2009 College Ratings. New York spends the least of all states on higher education with only 5.4% of its budget yet its highest rated public school SUNY-Binghamton is ranked higher than Utah at 80. North Dakota is a close second in spending at 15.4% and its university’s state ranking in education is Tier III. Tier III means it is ranked in the 50-75% of all national universities i.e. below average. 7 of the 10 lowest spending states on higher education have higher university rankings than high spending North Dakota. North Dakota does not get much bang for its buck.
High Spending States on Higher Education and University Rankings

NorthCarolina is third highest ranked state on higher education spending at 14.2% and has the highest rated public university of the high spending states with a rank of 28. This appears to be a positive spend to school rank association. Yet neighboring Georgia with a spend of 7.6% has its Georgia Institute of Technology rated 35. Georgia Institute of Technology is higher than every high spend state ranking other than North Carolina.

Alaska is the second lowest higher education spending ranked state at 6.1% and appears to get what it pays for. Its school is rated a bottom 25% Tier IV by U.S. News. Florida is the third lowest state in spend at 6.3% and appears to get very good returns with the University of Florida rated 47, higher than every high spend state other than North Carolina.
States with the lowest spending on higher education are primarily in the Northeast. 7 of the lowest 10 states are from the Northeast. They are, in addition to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine. Yet 4 of the states, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut have higher ranked schools than every high spend state other than North Carolina.
Low Spending States on Higher Education and University Rankings

A simple thesis that more spending on education leads to better results continues to be elusive. Be wary of political leaders who say that they are managing your education system better by spending more money. Check the results.

With unemployment rising and economic stress increasing, the trust we have in our neighbors and community is of increasing concern. We want to live in a Safe States as they are Best States to Live. The poll asked people if they believed a lost wallet with $200 in would be returned. Nationwide 70% of people believe that their wallet would be returned with money still in the wallet. Large States according to Gallup are generally viewed as less trustworthy. People in the Southern half of the country do not trust their neighbors as much as people in the North. See Gallup’s map below.

The Best States for Neighbor Trust are:

The Worst States for Neighbor Trust are:

People in the South do not trust their neighbors as much as the North according to Gallup. Chart courtesy of Gallup.

When picking your place to live consider your neighbors. Safe States are Best States to Retire and are Top States to Live

Floyd Norris of the New York Times had an interesting blog post today titled Where People Die . An unusual topic. Floyd’s post listed the Best and Worst States for Births and States with Most Deaths per capita.

Then again Floyd does unusual work as evidenced by the fact that he interviewed me in Dec of 2007. His piece Pessimism Is Growing in Executive Suites investigated the outlook from the CEO perspective. I stated back then ““The recent dramatic drop in confidence may suggest that the worst is yet to come.” Prescient in hindsight. CEO’s were very negative about the future then and they continue to be.

The States with Most Births per capita are below. Utah is the state with the most births per capita. Alaska, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma are also Top States for Births.

Floyd also reports some observations about the politics of the lists. It might have been more fun if he had made some social observations. For example, is Utah more of a loving state as evidenced by the its high birth rates? Why is Vermont having so few births? Do they need to love a little more? State lists are fun What are your thoughts?

The College Board released today the 2009 SAT Scores by State. They strongly encourage people to look at the data stand alone yet it seems everyone wants to see the SAT Rankings by State. We picked them up from a variety of news sources and present them to you with caution. Some states have low participation rates and arguably can tilt the field. We will follow up with some analysis in a future post. Also see our post Does Increased Spending on Higher Education lead to Better State University Rankings?Top SAT State Scores include Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. These States primarily have their students take the ACT test so their numbers may not be representative of the entire state.

The Worst States for SAT Scores include Maine, Hawaii, South Carolina, Georgia and New York. DC is also very low.
Here is the ranking of SAT Scores by State List:

2009 State Sat Scores

Rate

Reading

Math

Writing

Total

1

Iowa

3%

610

615

588

1813

2

Wisconsin

5%

594

608

582

1784

3

Minnesota

7%

595

609

578

1782

4

Missouri

5%

595

600

584

1779

5

Illinois

6%

588

604

583

1775

6

Michigan

5%

584

603

575

1762

7

South Dakota

3%

589

600

569

1758

8

Nebraska

4%

587

594

572

1753

9

North Dakota

3%

590

593

566

1749

10

Kansas

7%

581

589

564

1734

11

Kentucky

7%

573

573

561

1707

12

Oklahoma

5%

575

571

557

1703

13

Tennessee

10%

571

565

565

1701

14

Arkansas

5%

572

572

556

1700

15

Colorado

20%

568

575

555

1698

16

Wyoming

5%

567

568

550

1685

17

Mississippi

4%

567

554

559

1680

18

Louisiana

7%

563

558

555

1676

19

Alabama

7%

557

552

549

1658

20

Utah

6%

559

558

540

1657

21

New Mexico

11%

553

546

534

1633

22

Ohio

22%

537

546

523

1606

23

Montana

22%

541

542

519

1602

24

Idaho

18%

541

540

520

1601

25

Washington

53%

524

531

507

1563

26

New Hampshire

75%

523

523

510

1557

27

Massachusetts

84%

514

526

510

1551

28

Oregon

52%

523

525

499

1548

29

Vermont

64%

518

518

506

1543

30

Connecticut

83%

509

513

512

1535

31

Arizona

26%

516

521

497

1534

32

Alaska

46%

520

516

492

1528

33

Virginia

68%

511

512

498

1522

34

California

49%

500

513

498

1511

35

West Virginia

18%

511

501

499

1511

36

New Jersey

76%

496

513

496

1506

37

Maryland

69%

500

502

495

1498

38

Rhode Island

66%

498

496

494

1489

39

North Carolina

63%

495

511

480

1487

40

Nevada

42%

501

505

479

1485

41

Indiana

63%

496

507

480

1484

42

Delaware

71%

495

498

484

1478

43

Pennsylvania

71%

493

501

483

1478

44

Florida

59%

497

498

480

1476

45

Texas

51%

486

506

475

1468

46

New York

85%

485

502

478

1466

47

Georgia

71%

490

491

479

1461

48

South Carolina

67%

486

496

470

1453

49

Hawaii

58%

479

502

469

1451

50

Maine

90%

468

467

455

1391

51

DC

79%

466

451

461

1379

All Students

46%

501

515

493

1509

Source: College Board and various news services Rate: Student Population Rate as reported by www.collegeboard.com

After dropping like a rock during the first few months of the year and staying there through May, job openings have increased 8.59% nationwide since May 31, according to analysis released by BestandWorstStates.com. This is encouraging news and reinforces the view that employment dynamics are improving from their lows. While a significant rebound, it should be viewed with caution as job openings are still 1.57% below late January levels, just prior to the stimulus package being passed. Total job openings are not high enough to make a significant improvement to the jobless rate which was released this week to be a slightly improved 9.4%. For a complete list of state job opening activity see previous post List of Job Openings by State

Job openings increased nationwide 8.59% from May 31, 2009 from 210,048 to 231,370 on July 31, 2009. This increase is quite significant with 44 states showing increases during the past two months. The Top States for Jobs were mostly small states. Indiana was a notable large state on the Best State for Jobs list with a 18.14% increase in job openings during the last 60 days. Most of the Best States for Jobs have below average unemployment rates. The number of job openings in many of these states are quite small. Many of these small states would be Best States for Jobs if you are looking for employment however. For the complete Best States for Jobs List see

Job openings have decreased 1.57% since the end of January nationwide even though 30 states have more job openings than in January. The Top Ten US States according to population have shown a 4.1% decrease in job openings. California, the US largest state, has 9.3% lower jobs available than in January. With a 11.6% jobless rate, California appears to be a poor state for job seekers. Illinois is also a Worst State for Jobs with a 14.2% drop in openings along with a 10.5% unemployment rate. The US unemployment rate will not improve significantly without the Top Ten States also improving as these states have about 50% of the US population.

According to the report, the Index pulls together 16 different tax measures, and combines those into one tax score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared and ranked.

The 16 measures are: 1) state’s top personal income tax rate, 2) state’s top individual capital
gains tax rate, 3) state’s top corporate income tax rate, 4) state’s top corporate capital gains tax
rate, 5) any added income tax on S-Corporations, 6) whether or not the state imposes an
alternative minimum tax on individuals, 7) whether or not the state imposes an alternative
minimum tax on corporations, 8) whether or not the state’s personal income tax brackets are
indexed for inflation, 9) property taxes, 10) consumption-based taxes (i.e., sales, gross receipts
and excise taxes), 11) whether or not the state imposes a death tax, 12) unemployment tax, 13)
whether or not the state has a tax limitation mechanism, 14) whether or not the state imposes an
Internet access tax, 15) gas tax, and 16) diesel tax.

The report is full of useful information. While taxes are not the only factor in determining the Best or Worst State to Grow or Start a Business, they are a very important consideration.

The Best State for Small Business is South Dakota according to the Index. The next 4 in order are Nevada,Wyoming, Washington and Texas.

The Worst State for Small Business is New Jersey if you do not count D.C. Rounding out the Worst 5 States in order are Minnesota, Maine, California and New York.

The States are currently increasing many of their taxes to address deficit issues. Look for California and New York to rank even worse as they are loading up on all kinds of new taxes. Texas which ranks high in many studies is the best large state. Florida also has many attractive features and is ranked 6 in the study.

The Tax Foundation recently released their 2009 Tax Freedom Day Study. It measures how many days the average worker must work to pay taxes. There is a wide disparity among states. The tax burden you bear can significantly impact your quality of life.

The Best State for Tax Freedom is Alaska where it takes 82 days almost 25% of the year just to pay taxes. Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota and West Virginia are also rated Best States for Tax Freedom. If you are not retired, these states would be considered as candidates for Best States to Work.

The Worst State for Tax Freedom is Connecticut where it takes 120 days or until April 30 to pay taxes. If you live in Connecticut 1/3 of your time every year goes to pay taxes to the Federal, State and Local governments. That is almost 50% more days than Alaska. New Jersey, New York, California and Maryland are also rated Worst States for Tax Freedom.

According to the Tax Foundation study, five major categories of tax dominate the tax burden. Individual income taxes, both federal and state, require 38 days’ work. Payroll taxes take another 27 days’ work. Sales and excise taxes, mostly state and local, take 15 days to pay off. Corporate income taxes take 6 days, and property taxes take 12. Americans will log 4 more days to pay other miscellaneous taxes, most notably including motor vehicle license taxes and severance taxes, and about 1 day for estate taxes.

What state you live in is very important in determining your lifestyle as higher cost of living states tend to have higher tax burdens. Lower disposable income is the result. Many states are also increasing many taxes due to economic conditions which will increase tax burdens. Noteworthy examples are the proposed increases in New York and California that will make these heavily burdened states more undesirable to live. If you are not retired, New York and California would have to be considered as 2 of the Worst States to Work.

The February 2009 State Unemployment numbers were released this past week and they were not pretty. Every state in the U.S. saw its unemployment rate increase.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also released March Unemployment, along with Feb state data, and the nationwide unemployment rate increased again to 8.5% nationwide. It was 8.1% in February.

Seven States had unemployment above 10% in February. Michigan was the Worst State for Jobs with a whopping 12% unemployment number. South Carolina, Oregon, North Carolina, California Rhode Island and Nevada also qualify as Worst States for Employment as the 6 other states with unemployment above 10% .

The Best State for Jobs based on a low 3.9% unemployment is Wyoming. 4 other states qualify as Best States forEmployment with rates still below 5%. They are: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.

Some of the state year on year changes are quite large. Unemployment increased by over 100% from last year in Hawaii and Oregon for example. Of the large states, Texas is holding up the best with unemployment of only 6.2% in February which was below the U.S. Feb average of 8.1%.

State data is released with a one month lag so expect March state unemployment to get even worse as unemployment increased nationwide in March by .4%.

Career Builder Job Openings Drop 9.35%Nationwide in Last 45 Days
44 States Decrease, Only 6 States IncreaseCalifornia Worst State for Declines, North Dakota up 28.08%

Best and Worst States.com, the leading site for facts and lists about States, released analysis today on job opening data using Careerbuilder job openings as a proxy for job activity. Career Builder is the nations largest job posting site. Nationwide job openingsdropped 9.35% to 213,077 from 235,059 during the 45 day period starting on January 29, 2009 and ending on March 14, 2009. Job openings are those that have been posted within the last 30 days.

44 States showed decreases in job openings in the last 45 days while only 6 showed increase. The biggest job opening decline was in California. Job openings declined to 21,723 on March 14th from 25,855 on January 29, 2009, a decline of 4,132 job openings. California unemployment was recently announced at 10.1%, the 4th worst in the nation. California, the nations most populous state, also has the most job openings in the country yet the number is quite low compared to the size of the population. Typically job openings are a leading indicator of future employment.

All large employment states showed job opening declines including New York, Illinois, Texas and Florida. Illinois showed the largest decline in percentage terms at -20.99%. Illinois unemployment is currently at 7.9%, tied for 34th in the nation.

States that showed increases were typically small states with low unemployment. The total number of increases was also small. North Dakota showed the largest percentage increase in job openings at 28.08% yet it only increased by 123 job openings. North Dakota’s unemployment was only 4.2% in January, the 2nd lowest in the nation. Alaska increased by 20.75% and had the largest state job opening increase at 167. Alaska unemployment is at 7.9%, tied for 34th in the nation. Other states showing increases were South Dakota with an increase of 62, Maine with 13, Utah with 29 and Iowa with 27. Wyoming, the state with the lowest unemployment, also showed a slight increase of job openings with just 10. It also has the fewest job openings in the nation on career builder.

Edward M. Kopko, Editor of Best and Worst States, said, “ Job Openings have dropped quite quickly since President Obama has taken office. The unemployment rate is unlikely to improve until job openings start to increase. The trend clearly indicates increased unemployment.”

BestandWorstStates.com, is the leading site for facts and lists about states. Ed Kopko, its editor, during his career has written and developed extensive research on business matters and employment. The site develops and publishes data about a number of issues important to people. Topics include state tax policy, social issues, jobs, lifestyle and matters that help citizens be more knowledgeable about the states they live. www.bestandworststates.com.

EPE Research this past week published a state ranking of education spending per student.

While the quality of education may be influenced by the amount of money spent, spending more money does not insure that students actually learn more. We found it interesting to note how money spent and SAT scores were associated.
The highest spending state, Vermont, is rated 30th in SAT scores nationwide. The lowest spending state, Utah, gets higher SAT scores from their students and is ranked 20th above Vermont. Far less money, higher score. The Best State (highest) SAT score comes from Iowa yet their spending of $9,977 per student is right in the middle at 25th and right at the national average of spending. The WorstState Sat score comes from Maine yet it spends the 5th most money in the nation.

With all the spending coming out of Congress, we might want to ask for more accountability on results. The various state legislatures, that are making spending decisions, clearly can not show that more money leads to better results. Check out our previous post on Best and Worst State SAT Scores

The data is regionally adjusted so it takes into consideration relative cost. While SAT scores are only one performance measurement it is an important and consistent test metric across the entire nation.Blog Search Engine